Our team is made up of talented and dedicated individuals who work together to bring our vision to life.
Eric Swack
Executive Director
Eric leads Mountain Plains CDC with a commitment to expanding economic opportunity across Native and rural communities. With years of experience in community development and small business support, he oversees strategic partnerships and program growth throughout the region.
Genevieve Simermeyer
Program Director
Genevieve leads Mountain Plains CDC’s programs that support Native and rural communities in building stronger local economies. Her work focuses on collaboration, capacity building, and creating pathways for long-term success through culturally grounded, community-driven solutions. Genevieve is an enrolled member of the Osage Nation.
Alisha Everwind
Project Director
Alisha leads project planning and implementation across Mountain Plains CDC’s key initiatives. With a background in community development and organizational leadership, she ensures each project delivers measurable impact and aligns with the organization’s mission to empower Native and rural communities. Alisha is a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.
Board Members
The Mountain Plains Community Development Board of Directors is made up of the Executive Directors of the Mountain Plains Coalition member organizations.
Skya Ducheneaux
Board Chair
Skya is the Executive Director of Akiptan and is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. She spent her first 18 years of life on a cattle ranch on the CRST Reservation in South Dakota. She then pursued Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Business Administration while working at a county FSA office and buffalo meat processing plant. After returning home to work for the Intertribal Agriculture Council, she was tasked with creating the first Native CDFI dedicated to serving Native Agriculture producers all across Indian Country. Akiptan began lending in January of 2019 and has grown rapidly over the years.
Charlene Johnson
Board Vice Chair
Charlene Yarlott Johnson is the Executive Director and founder for Plenty Doors Community Development Corporation, established in 2018. She has lived on or near the Crow Reservation for most of her life. Prior to Plenty Doors, Charlene worked with the Indian Health Service for almost 25 years as a public health nutritionist and an administrator. Her interest in starting a nonprofit organization focused on community economic development while working with the Indian Health Service. Charlene acquired her education at Montana State University – Bozeman and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Charlene is a member of the Apsáalooke Nation in Montana.
Angie Main
Secretary/Treasurer
Angie is currently the Executive Director at NACDC Financial Services. She joined NACDC in 2005 to forward the goal of economic sovereignty through small business development and local capacity building. Angie received her Bachelor of Science in Business Technology from MSU-Northern in Havre, MT, and has over 28 years of experience in administration, contracts, grants management, education, as well as small business, economic and community development issues for Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota Indian Reservations. She has worked as a consultant to leverage resources for housing and resource development, law enforcement and juvenile justice, community organizational development, non-profit and corporation assistance, strategic and business plan development, and SBA8(a) certification. Angie is an enrolled member of the Fort Belknap Gros Ventre Tribe.
Lakota Vogel
Board Member
Lakota Vogel is the Executive Director at Four Bands Community Fund. Prior to becoming the Executive Director, Lakota served as the Assistant Director at Four Bands for five years. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology. Upon graduation, she joined Teach for America and taught on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation at Todd County High School. Lakota obtained her Masters in Social Work Degree from Washington University in St. Louis with the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies. Lakota individualized her course of study to concentrate in economic security and social development through the life course of American Indians.
Sharon Small
Board Member
Sharon Small, (Netsema’aestsehe’e, Red Eagle Woman) has served as the Executive Director for People's Partner for Community Development since 2010. In her role, Sharon oversees all operations for PPCD and Courtesy Cash, Inc., including fundraising where she has been instrumental in earning over $4 million in federal, private, and state grants. Sharon has assisted local small businesses throughout her time, helping in a variety of ways from business plans to applying for grant funding. She previously worked for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s Economic Development Committee where she was responsible for grant management and reporting, overseeing the budget and external communications with partners and the public. Sharon earned her bachelor’s degree in Communications from Montana State University. Sharon owns multiple small businesses, including a cattle operation where she is a third-generation cattle rancher. Ms. Small, the mother of three children, is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.
Ben Sanders
Board Member
Ben Sanders (an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe) is the current Chief Financial Officer of the Native American Development Corporation. Mr. Sanders has a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Business Administration from Rocky Mountain College and holds an MBA from Gonzaga University with a focus in American Indian Entrepreneurship. His experience includes management roles in tribal finance and tribal business as Treasurer, Comptroller, Board Member and CEO. Currently, Mr. Sanders is leading an initiative to expand the financial capacity at NADC to accommodate the organization’s recent growth.
Before joining, Native American Development Corporation in 2021, Ben worked as an independent consultant providing services to tribes and tribal entities in financial management.
Paul Huberty
Board Member
Paul F. Huberty is the Executive Director for Wind River Development Fund and an enrolled member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) in Minnesota. Paul spent his career in the health care industry and held executive leadership positions at nonprofit organizations ranging in size from $300 million to $3 billion in revenue. Paul received his Bachelor of Science degree from The Pennsylvania State University and his Master of Business Administration and Master of Science degree in Finance from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Paul and his wife live in Lander, WY.
